On the first day of “The Dramatic Scene” lecture, script consultant Karl Iglesias focused on well-written scenes having a three-act structure with a climax. Within the scene beats are action and reaction until as he states, “I (as the character) either get or not get what I want.”
On day two of his lecture, he focused on description and dialogue within a scene and offered 16 salient options to an effective dramatic scene! I’ve kept these indicators in outline form as jotted down during the class. I offer these nuggets for your consideration. Take whatever works and use hem in your own scenes! Remember: every scene is a three-act structure with a climax! Happy writing!
- (1) Start the scene in the middle of the action. START as late as you can and END as early as you can!
- (Beginnings and Endings – How do you start and end a scene?
- (2l Emotional Palette: Includes the character’s emotions and the reader’s emotions
- Character emotion cues, i.e. character afraid of water, put him on a rickety boat, then can do that for every beat.
- Reader’s emotional response
- Palette switch around (bouncing from one emotion to another)
- Flip cliché emotions, i.e. grief crying when cop’s wife finds out husband is dead. Instead, she’s laughing (why is she laughing?)
- Apply any story emotion technique: Interest: Curiosity, Anticipation. Tension: Surprise, Horror. NOTE: There’s only a set of emotions.
- (3) Compelling dialogue
- (4) Conflict
- The Actor’s Studio Technique: Give the two characters opposite scripts and stakes
- Confrontations: Immediate and tense
- Interrogations
- Obstacles/Complications
- Inner Conflicts (conflict within the character!)
- NOTE: Not all scenes need conflict. If you have the premise of conflict, that’s fine.
- (5) Contrast within the scene
- Contrasting characters i.e. African Queen or Odd Couple.
- Contrasting emotions: A character who’s happy and one who’s sad
- Character and environment: “fish-out-of-water” stories
- (6) Dramatic entrance or introduction: Introduce in a dramatic situation
- (7) Flashbacks can be interesting in a scene: Answers in a flashback bring relief, i.e. Casablanca.
- (8) Information setup and emotional payoff
- (9) Reaction, dilemma, and decision
- (10) Reveal character, but don’t make the scene all about that!
- (11) Running gag: Piece of information that happens several times, i.e. “Don’t call me Shirley” in the movie Airport.
- (12) Secrets: Give the character something to hide, i.e. Evelyn in the movie Chinatown; surprise or tension, depending on what you want.
- (13) A shocking moment, i.e. the reveal in movie, The Crying Game or a striking image or special effect, i.e. E.T. riding over the moon’s reflection.
- (14) Sweeteners (frosting on the cake) with romance, humor, or thrill. Having a hint of romance in a scene.
- {15}Subtext – Off-the-nose scenes, i.e. Annie Hall (Subtext as to what they were thinking. If you can do it without showing, even better.
- {16}Twists and Reversals: When an enemy becomes a friend. Two turning points within a scene.
Karl Iglesias used movies to illustrate his point. As you can readily note, some are films easily recognized years ago. But they still work as effective references. If you’re not familiar with any of these films, make an effort to widen your experience and draw from more examples!
FINALLY, Mr. Iglesias said that a well-crafted script will have five or six dramatics scenes that are memorable and fascinating. In my screenwriting classes, we called these scenes AHAAH or haunting moments. Once again, I urge you to Look through his suggestions and choose what would give your script memorable moments.